The best pizza in New York City

New York City is home to five boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Each borough has a personality of its own, and pizza is no exception.

There’s a lot of pizza in New York City. Pizza might as well be New York City’s official dish. Nothing is more New York than the pizza slice because even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good! The people here at Deputy collected, researched and sought out the best pizzas from each borough in New York City.

Below is our list of the best pizzas in each borough in New York City. After checking out these establishments, you’ll never want to eat at Pizza Hut again:

Di Fara

Zero Otto Nove

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza

Sac’s Place

Joe & Pat’s

Bon appétit!

The best pizza in New York City by borough

Quickly jump from borough to borough to read about the best pizzas each area has to offer:

When people talk about the best New York pizza, they’re really talking about one borough: Brooklyn. The pizza in Brooklyn is more than your cheap-pizza dollar slices – this is some of the best pizza in America, made with time-honored techniques, fresh ingredients and plenty of attitude. Brooklyn is also famous for having the type of pizza that you have to fold to eat. In fact, it is a given that any slice you get must be folded so that you do not lose any of the great taste.

Over 50 years ago, in 1965, Italian immigrant Domenico DeMarco opened Di Fara Pizza in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. DeMarco and his family-run pizzeria have been praised by critics and clients, from Bourdain to de Blasio and customers queue, for a taste of what they are told is the best of the best. The shop and the pizza itself has gone unchanged after all these years. The pizza recipe, the exact ingredients (he sources almost everything from Italy) and the process is the same as it was several decades ago. Watch him at work as you wait (in a very long line) for your slice.

The location: 1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY 11230 The cost: $5 for a slice of pizza

The Bronx

Bronxites love their pizza. This borough is quite large and very residential and lacks widespread public transportation. Ruben Diaz, Jr. (the Bronx Borough President) would argue that the city’s best pizza can be found in the Bronx. There might be some disagreement about the best place in the Bronx to get a pie, but here’s our top pick.

When you think of authentic Italian food, you think of Zero Otto Nove. Chef Roberto Paciullo brought a part of Salerno, Italy to the streets of New York City, Arthur Avenue and Westchester County. Italian for “089,” Italy’s country code, Zero Otto Nove is the next best thing. This restaurant is a cozy trattoria with a full menu. But (you guessed it) it’s the pizza you really want. Their pizzas are creative with toppings like butternut squash puree, cream of truffle, mushrooms & fresh mozzarella.

Manhattan is not the biggest borough, but it has it all. From skyscrapers and fancy dining, to apartment buildings and local bodegas. Whether you’re looking for a quick slice after a night out, or looking for a traditionally-made Neapolitan pie, Manhattan has an endless array of pizza options. Take a look at our top pick, and see if it’s up your alley.

Artichoke opened to rave reviews in early 2008 and pizza lovers throughout the city have been flocking there ever since. Artichoke Basille’s is best known for its artichoke slice, a creamy blend of sautéed artichoke hearts, garlic and spinach that’s almost like a party dip on a pizza. Yes, they have other creations (like vodka penne and crab) but the artichoke reigns supreme. The slices aren’t exactly cheap, and expect to be standing outside eating it, but it’s a well-worth-it experience.

The location: 328 E 14th St, New York City, NY 10003 The cost: $6 by the slice or $34 for a pie

Queens

Queens is the easternmost and largest in area of the five boroughs of New York City. It has a population of almost 2.5 million residents, half of whom are foreign-born. Queens County itself is one of the top five most densely populated counties as in the United States. With that being said, the food is just as cultured as the population! Grab a slice at our top pizza pick in Queens.

When residents of Astoria, Queens are faced with the decision of grabbing a quick slice or sitting down for a nice Italian meal, Sac’s Place is the answer to both. Sac’s Place is owned and ran by the Sacramone brothers, Domenico and Anthony. The no-frills grab-and-go restaurant offers up high quality coal fired pizza by the slice. The brothers installed the coal oven in 1999, and all the pizzas are cooked in it.

Staten Island’s nickname is the Borough of Parks, but it ought to be the Borough of Pizza. This borough and its residents have a long lineage of Italian immigrant roots. In fact, more than one-third of the population are of Italian ancestry. Staten Island has some incredible authentic Italian restaurants and naturally, some of the best pizza in New York City. Check out our top pick.

Joe & Pat’s is the king of Staten Island pizza. Open since 1960, it doesn’t look like much, but the pizza is magnificent. Their pizza pies are the ultimate version of one of the borough’s dominant styles: thin-crust, vodka-sauced bar pie. Joe doesn’t let anyone take pictures behind the counter, because he wants to keep his thin crust recipe a secret.

The location: 1758 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314 The cost: $10 for a slice of pizza, $20 for a heart-shaped pizza pie

Grab a slice of the pie

Do you own or know the best pizza shop in New York City? Reach out to us and we’ll add you to the list!

About Deputy

Every restaurant is different. Whether you are running a 5-star restaurant or a New York pizza shop Deputy can be molded to suit your needs.

Deputy is much more than just a restaurant employee scheduling tool, it can be used to manage your entire workforce and will save your restaurant time and money. Also, when scheduling your employees is simplified and clear, your staff is happier. You have more time to work on administrative and management tasks. And your customers are satisfied when your staff meets their needs. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today here.

The first New York State minimum wage was $1.00 per hour. Since it was established in October 1960, New York state minimum wage has increased in spurts, with the first rapid increase occurring over a period of several years in the mid-to-late 1970s.

New York enacted its predictive scheduling laws on November 26, 2017. This legislation placed a range of responsibilities on some retail and fast-food companies in terms of scheduling their employees’ shifts. To read more about New York’s ‘Fair Work Week’ legislative package, check out this article.

Today

How much is the minimum wage in New York in 2018? Today, New York’s minimum wage rate depends on the geographic location of the workplace, the size of the employer’s workforce, and the calendar. New York enacted a minimum wage schedule in 2016 that will increase wages from $9 an hour to $15 over six years:

* Annual increases for the rest of the state will continue until the rate reaches $15 minimum wage (and $10 tipped wage). Starting 2021, the annual increases will be published by the Commissioner of Labor on or before October 1. They will be based on percentage increases determined by the Director of the Division of Budget, based on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index.

Source: Department of Labor

New York State Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers

Any person working at a Fast Food Establishment must be paid the Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers. An employee’s job duties must include at least one of the following: customer service, cooking, food or drink preparation, delivery, security, stocking supplies or equipment, cleaning, or routine maintenance.

For fast-food workers in New York City, the minimum wage will increase from $13.50 to $15.00 an hour by the end of 2018. Fast-food employees in the rest of the state will get a $1 raise, from $11.75 to $12.75 an hour. These rates will increase annually until they reach $15.00 at the end of 2018 for New York City and in the middle of 2021 for the rest of the state.

The minimum wage increases only apply to restaurants that are part of a chain of 30 or more locations nationwide. The minimum wage covers fast-food workers at more than 130 chains operating in New York, including Arby’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, KFC, McDonalds, Panera Bread, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy’s.

The minimum wage rule also applies to local chains that operate at least 30 locations in New York.

Looking Ahead

The main priority for New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, is to increase the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour for all workers across New York State. While many New York state workers are not currently scheduled to reach that $15.00 per hour goal, those in New York City, Long Island and Westchester will enjoy a $15.00 per hour minimum wage by the end of 2021.

The wage hike will be over a period of three years for workers at large New York City companies and four years for workers at smaller city businesses.
On Long Island and in Westchester County, the minimum wage will reach $15 an hour over a six-year period.
For the remainder of the state, including all of upstate, it will take longer for the minimum wage to reach $15 an hour. The minimum wage for the rest of the state will rise to $11.10 at the end of 2018, $11.80 at the end of 2019, and $12.50 on Dec. 31, 2020.

In 2021, the minimum wage increase will be determined by the state budget director, who will use the consumer price index and other economic indicators to determine how much it should rise.

Enforcement of Minimum Wage Laws

We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of labor laws passed in states, counties, and cities across the country. To date, the U.S. has 29 states, six counties and 32 cities with minimum wage laws.

Employers should ensure all non-exempt employees are earning the new minimum wage and exempt employees subject to a salary basis requirement are paid the minimum salary level. Additionally, employers should ensure all employees receive updated notices of their new rates in accordance with the New York State Wage Theft Prevention Act, which requires employers to provide notice of pay changes to employees.

New York has already implemented the most stringent labor guidelines for fast food and retail with the Fair Work Week (FWW). On top of the administrative burden of the FWW, labor cost going up to double digits means employers must forecast their labor cost using more than just guesswork.

The most efficient way to stay compliant is to partner with a workforce management software platform that is up-to-date and compliant with new predictive scheduling laws. Deputy recently announced the addition of compliance tools to help businesses stay ahead of U.S.-based regulations. Another important feature that Deputy offers is the capability to auto-approve shifts based on specific criteria like overtime and predictive scheduling triggers.

These tools help employers manage compliance to avoid penalties and potential class-action lawsuits; all while saving your business money and time.
With Deputy, you can:

Fair Workweek is an issue that’s not going away. But, Deputy makes it easier to solve. Subscribe to the Deputy blog to stay updated on this legislation.

The first New York State minimum wage was $1.00 per hour. Since it was established in October 1960, New York’s state minimum wage has increased in spurts, with the first rapid increase occurring over a period of several years in the mid-to-late 1970s.

New York enacted its predictive scheduling laws on November 26, 2017. This legislation placed a range of responsibilities on some retail and fast-food companies in terms of scheduling their employees’ shifts. To read more about New York’s ‘Fair Work Week’ legislative package, check out this article.

Today

How much is the minimum wage in New York in 2018? Today, New York’s minimum wage rate depends on the geographic location of the workplace, the size of the employer’s workforce, and the calendar. New York enacted a minimum wage schedule in 2016 that will increase wages from $9 an hour to $15 over six years:

* Annual increases for the rest of the state will continue until the rate reaches $15 minimum wage (and $10 tipped wage). Starting 2021, the annual increases will be published by the Commissioner of Labor on or before October 1. They will be based on percentage increases determined by the Director of the Division of Budget, based on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index.

Source: Department of Labor

New York State Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers

Any person working at a Fast Food Establishment must be paid the Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers. An employee’s job duties must include at least one of the following: customer service, cooking, food or drink preparation, delivery, security, stocking supplies or equipment, cleaning, or routine maintenance.

For fast-food workers in New York City, the minimum wage will increase from $13.50 to $15.00 an hour by the end of 2018. Fast-food employees in the rest of the state will get a $1 raise, from $11.75 to $12.75 an hour. These rates will increase annually until they reach $15.00 at the end of 2018 for New York City and in the middle of 2021 for the rest of the state.

The minimum wage increases only apply to restaurants that are part of a chain of 30 or more locations nationwide. The minimum wage covers fast-food workers at more than 130 chains operating in New York, including Arby’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, KFC, McDonald’s, Panera Bread, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy’s.

The minimum wage rule also applies to local chains that operate at least 30 locations in New York.

Looking Ahead

The main priority for New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, is to increase the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour for all workers across New York State. While many New York state workers are not currently scheduled to reach that $15.00 per hour goal, those in New York City, Long Island and Westchester will enjoy a $15.00 per hour minimum wage by the end of 2021.

The wage hike will be over a period of three years for workers at large New York City companies and four years for workers at smaller city businesses.
On Long Island and in Westchester County, the minimum wage will reach $15 an hour over a six-year period.
For the remainder of the state, including all of upstate, it will take longer for the minimum wage to reach $15 an hour. The minimum wage for the rest of the state will rise to $11.10 at the end of 2018, $11.80 at the end of 2019, and $12.50 on Dec. 31, 2020.

In 2021, the minimum wage increase will be determined by the state budget director, who will use the consumer price index and other economic indicators to determine how much it should rise.

Enforcement of Minimum Wage Laws

We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of labor laws passed in states, counties, and cities across the country. To date, the U.S. has 29 states, six counties and 32 cities with minimum wage laws.

Employers should ensure all non-exempt employees are earning the new minimum wage and exempt employees subject to a salary basis requirement are paid the minimum salary level. Additionally, employers should ensure all employees receive updated notices of their new rates in accordance with the New York State Wage Theft Prevention Act, which requires employers to provide notice of pay changes to employees.

New York has already implemented the most stringent labor guidelines for fast food and retail with the Fair Work Week (FWW). On top of the administrative burden of the FWW, labor cost going up to double digits means employers must forecast their labor cost using more than just guesswork.

The most efficient way to stay compliant is to partner with a workforce management software platform that is up-to-date and compliant with new predictive scheduling laws. Deputy recently announced the addition of compliance tools to help businesses stay ahead of U.S.-based regulations. Another important feature that Deputy offers is the capability to auto-approve shifts based on specific criteria like overtime and predictive scheduling triggers.

These tools help employers manage compliance to avoid penalties and potential class-action lawsuits; all while saving your business money and time.
With Deputy, you can:

Fair Workweek is an issue that’s not going away. But, Deputy makes it easier to solve. Subscribe to the Deputy blog to stay updated on this legislation.

Brooklyn-based athleisure apparel retailer Solfire launched their brand a few years ago with the aim of creating a unique experience for the fitness community and connecting with like-minded, active individuals. The fitness retailer had the apparel part of it down, thanks to an obsession with quality products and a fierce dedication to working only with manufacturers who met their strict standards.

In their brick and mortar store, they installed a juice and smoothie bar and a “fitness oasis” — a space for clubs to meet and classes to exercise. But to really create that community they were after, Solfire needed a way to keep shoppers in the loop. First, the team put up a community board to showcase “all the studios, all the places people sweat, all of that within the area around our store.”

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started. What’s Solfire all about?

Solfire is an athleisure apparel company that lives at the intersection of style and performance for people with an active lifestyle. We are passionate about building a community for our customers. It goes beyond clothes — we want people to live full lives, and Solfire offers a place to do so while meeting with others who do the same.

What systems and/or technology were you using before you switched to Vend?

This is our first store. After extensive research, we found that Vend allowed us not only to get an easy start but to be able to scale with our growth.

What brought you to Vend? How have you found it? Would you recommend Vend to retailers like yourself?

Scalability was important, but also ease-of-use. I wanted our store ambassadors to be engaging people without having to be distracted by a cumbersome POS. Vend is easy to use — both front- and back-end.

What’s the setup like in your store? How do you use Vend?

At Solfire, we use Vend to really help build our community.

We use it to connect with our customers and get their information; as we go through the sales transaction, we just flip the iPad around and ask them for their details so we can stay in touch and keep them updated on what’s happening in-store and in the community.

What have been your biggest wins with Vend? How have we helped you succeed?

Being that we’re focused on our relationships with customers, Vend wins every time because it allows us to stay engaged with the person in front of us.

Follow Solfire on Facebook and Instagram, and pop into the store if you find yourself in the Brooklyn area!

Over the past 12 months, we’ve released a range of exciting features including a shiny new navigation, a revamped Xero integration, advanced user permissions, store credit, cash rounding, and a smoother stock control experience.

We’ve also started working with more amazing partners, like Square in the USA, and we have over 19,000 stores (and counting) using Vend. We have plenty more changes in the pipeline for 2017, and we can’t wait to share them with you at NRF in New York from January 15 to 17!

NRF is the godfather of all retail trade shows, attracting 33,000 attendees for several intense days of learning, networking, and experiencing the latest in retail. More than 500 solution providers representing all angles of retail exhibit alongside the education sessions that cover everything from mobile retailing and sustainability to research and global retail trends.

Now that’s a busy agenda.

Book a time to connect with the Vend team.

Booking a time in advance to chat with us at NRF is a great way to ensure you see and talk to the right people during your busy schedule. Just click on the photo of the person you’d like to connect with, and confirm a meeting time — or email us directly.

Pierre-Emmanuel Perruchot de La Bussière, General Manager Channel and Business Development

Nicola Fahy, North America Marketing

Francesca Nicasio, Content Marketing Manager and Retail Expert

Sean Buckley, Account Executive

Find us at Booth 1413 and Booth 3731.

Thanks to our awesome partners Star Micronics and SpacePole, we’ll be at two locations — so finding us this year will be easier than ever.

See Vend in action, and experience our new look and features, including our advanced user permissions and quick variant setup.

Find Star Micronics at booth 3731 and SpacePole at booth 1413.

Still haven’t registered for your free ticket?

If you’re a retailer but not an NRF member, it’s still your lucky day. Register for your free ticket to access the EXPO Hall by completing a super quick, easy form. Go on: do it now!

Over the coming weeks, there’ll be more announcements and updates. Make sure you follow all the important social channels for networking with attendees.

Boutique wine and spirits shop Grain & Vine calls trendy Brooklyn neighborhood East Williamsburg home and thrives on introducing its customers to new products they might otherwise never try. Owner Michael Nagdimunov is a big fan of Vend, and he’s equally excited about our new integration with Square. We chatted with him to find out a bit more about Grain & Vine and how Vend and Square are helping his business thrive. Read our interview with Michael below!

Tell us a bit about how you got started. What’s Grain & Vine all about?

Grain & Vine is a true community project, started by realizing that somewhere as vibrant and diverse as East Williamsburg not having their own wine and spirits shop was ridiculous. So we decided that our longstanding industry experience and enthusiasm for Brooklyn would be put to good use by opening up a neighborhood shop that didn’t just carry big-name producers and the same things you can buy everywhere else, but instead searched the globe to find exciting products that would help create memorable life moments for our neighbors.

What’s your local community like?

East Williamsburg continues to change everyday with the openings of new bars, restaurants, boutique stores, and more. Wherever you might be from, there’s something here for you. We’re at the confluence of Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Bed-Stuy, which means we get a little influence from all three iconic Brooklyn neighborhoods and, in typical local fashion, continue to make those influences our own.

Just within two blocks of our shop, you’ll find restaurants serving Chinese, Spanish, pizza, and burgers, as well as a quaint coffee shop, a well-known tattoo parlor, and one of the best grocery stores in Brooklyn. We’ve got it all over here, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of it.

What brought you to Vend? How have you found it? Would you recommend Vend to retailers like yourself?

We were looking for a POS system that could handle the retail aspect of things but that also had robust cost management tools and would integrate well with the Shopify platform, because we built our website on it. While not without hiccups, Vend checked off all boxes. What also sold us is that Vend continues to evolve — and we evolve right along with it, which makes for a perfect partnership.

How did you find setup? What’s the specific setup like in your store? Are you using an iPad, PC, or other device?

Setup was a breeze. We used hardware recommended by Vend and went with an iPad (encased in a Heckler’s Design stand), a SocketMobile 7Ci scanner in iOS mode, and a STAR TSP printer. Ninety-nine percent of the time they all work in harmony without an issue. On the rare occasion where hardware malfunctions, it’s not that difficult to reset it and get it going again.

Michael’s wife Sandra at Grain & Vine

Describe your experience with the Vend and Square integration. How has it affected Grain & Vine?

We’ve used all types of payment integrations since Vend began partnering with different processors. The Square integration is by far the easiest and most hassle-free to date. As for how it’s affected us, not having to worry about payment processing anymore allows our staff to concentrate on the most important aspect of our business: helping customers find a perfect bottle of wine or hooch.

Combining the ease of processing and providing us with a competitive rate (we estimate we’ll save about $1000 annually by processing with Square) made the switch a no-brainer.

Why are you passionate about what you do? What drew you to this line of work?

Selling wine and spirits to people — and being passionate about it — has to start with a strong relationship with the products themselves. We love wine, whiskey, tequila, gin…everything! Because not only do we enjoy the tastes, but we see how important all of our beverages are to our most cherished life experiences.

Whether it’s a bottle of fine wine with an anniversary dinner, margaritas with a backyard BBQ, or swanky homemade cocktails to celebrate date night, what we drink becomes as much a part of our experiences as anything. So having experienced that for ourselves, it was only natural for us to want to share that with others.

What advice do you wish you’d known when you started?

This is a bit of a trick question for us, and I’ll tell you why. I wish I knew what our neighborhood would fall in love with from our inventory right away, which kinds of wines they usually found themselves inclined to drink, etc. But our neighborhood is always changing (that’s Brooklyn), meaning that trends and tastes are always changing. Sure, having polled our entire customer base for what they liked to drink would have eliminated some trial and error as far as inventory goes, but learning on the fly has allowed us to change with our guests and their preferences.

What’s your best retail tale?

In October of 2015, we participated in a marketing campaign for certain Spanish wines made from Garnacha in the region of Aragon. As part of that, we hosted a few Spanish wine experts including Pilar Cavero, one of Spain’s top sommeliers. Our plan for a formal wine class totally dissolved, but it worked out perfectly because as guests came into the shop and asked what was going on, they got to tag along with Pilar and chat about the delicious wines we carried from Spain. The whole team got into the fun. It didn’t go as planned, but it couldn’t have gone better.

Go here to learn more about our integration with Square, and be sure to check out Grain & Vine if you happen to be in the area!

The answer lies in the experience. Entice customers with irresistible in-store design and ambience, and provide them with a sensory experience that colossal retailers like H&M simply can’t offer.

But in an age of both information and product overload, it can be difficult to come up with new, inventive ways to make your store stand out. To help, we compiled a list of seven fashion-centric Instagram accounts who know what they’re up to when it comes to design. Get ready to be inspired.

Houston, Texas-based Myth & Symbol peppers its clothing-centric Instagram feed with design images like the one above. The lessons here?

First: take full advantage of whatever window space you have. Use decals, glass paint markers, or anything else you can think of to create something eye-catching and compelling.

Second: provide seating! Adding couches or chairs to your store shows care for your customers’ comfort; seating also allows them a convenient place to sit when they’re trying on shoes (if you sell them) or a spot to take a breather if they’re just accompanying a friend.

Located in Brooklyn, New York, fashion retailer SWORDS-SMITH specializes in both women’s and men’s clothing and accessories. The store’s Instagram highlights snapshots of its modern, minimalistic interior, which you can use as design inspiration when it comes to display, lighting, and use of space.

Concept store In Support Of sits near the Hudson River in New York, New York and does some really cool, innovative things with its space — including using clear glass tables and boxes as design pieces and filling them with plants and balloons.

The key takeaway? Take visual stock of your store, then think of similarly out-of-the-box ways to make your spot stand out to customers (like papering your walls in grass).

The Instagram feed of lifestyle boutique Concrete + Water (also located in Brooklyn) is a study in organized clutter. Large plants and vases of colorful flowers punctuate the space, visually separating the racks, tables, and shelves chock-full of clothing, shoes, and accessories.

If your shop is similarly stocked, Concrete + Water’s beautiful account will undoubtedly hold some inspiration — and as a bonus, it frequently features shots of other striking interiors to further assist with your design plans.

As you can probably guess from its name, fashion retailer FrenchTrotters is based in France. Its two Paris-based boutiques seamlessly meld the famous French class with contemporary minimalism, realized in simple shelves and tables of rich wood paired with warm, soft lighting.

Retail Design Blog isn’t exclusively fashion, but our list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning them. This Instagram account features one beautifully designed retail space after another, so there’s never any shortage of visuals to boost your creativity.

Do you follow any other noteworthy accounts? Let us know in the comments!

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